Personal assistant garment

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to clothing and more particularly to a garment designed to hold portable electronic devices and other items such as wallets, keys, etc. The garment has at least one and preferably more than one pocket to hold an electronic device, i.e., cell phone. Each pocket includes an internal passageway that leads to an interior side of the vest. The garment also includes a central passageway system which includes two passageways that are on opposite sides of the central opening of the garment. The passageways are segmented and allow for the installation of wires. The garment further includes a horizontal passageway that passes from the left side of the interior of the vest around the central portion of the back to the right side of the vest. The central passageway system, one or more wires can be removed and installed from an individual passageway segment without disturbing other wires neatly fastened in other passageway segments.

This application claims priority from provisional application No.60/281,877 filed on Apr. 5, 2001.

The present invention relates to clothing and more particularly to agarment designed to hold portable electronic devices, such as cellphones, pagers, PDAs, and other items such as wallets, keys, glasses,and allowing use of the devices without removing them from the garmentby incorporating conduits and passageways therein to interconnect thedevices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Recently, the use of portable electronic devices has increaseddramatically. These devices include, but are not necessarily limited to,cellular/digital phones and/or other similar wireless communicationdevices such as pagers, personal digital assistants (commonly referredto as PDAs, Palm Pilots7 and/or Pocket-PCs), microcomputers, eBookreaders, MP3 players, recording devices, Walkman7 and other similarportable listening devices, portable television sets, portable internetdevices, radar detectors, pedometers, remote control units, portableglobal positioning satellite (GPS) devices, two-way radios, cameras andvideo recorders/camcorders (including digital cameras and videorecorders/camcorders), calculators, and/or miniature flashlights.Moreover, there are a multitude of accessories related to such portableelectronic devices, e.g., modems, portable printers, portable keyboards,memory cards/discs and related devices, portable scanners, batteries andother energy sources including charging and AC adapters, cradles,cables, modules, earphones/headphones/headsets and other listeningdevices, microphones, recording devices, software, stylus, among others.This change has corresponded with a change in the dress code. No longerare business suits the uniform of choice. Now people dress much morecasually, often wearing slacks or a skirt, as applicable, and a shirt.Moreover, due to health and safety concerns, among other things, peopleare now using hands-free listening and talking devices at an increasingrate.

Many business activities now require individuals to carry and to useefficiently a large assortment of equipment and supplies, i.e. thedevices listed above. Currently, such articles are carried in variousbags, pockets, cartons and cases. As a result of relatively unorganizedcarriage of this equipment and supplies, their use consumes excessivetime and energy. Additionally, recharging of the batteries and care ofequipment when not in use also consumes a large portion of time thatcould be decreased with an effective tool for handling and using suchitems.

Usually, vest or like articles must be particularly sized for anindividual user, especially if there are any internal interconnectedparts. To date, however, no garment exists designed specifically toallow a person to use existing portable electronic devices without theincorporation of any hardware that may be required for the connection toother devices while wearing the garment at the same time as also beingfashionable and versatile enough to wear in the average workplacesetting, such as an office. Additionally, none provide for carriage ofnumerous devices in ways that can be used efficiently with minimalstress on the lower back of a wearer's body, and that may be adjustablyfitted for multiple users while still remaining functionallyinterconnected. The present invention addresses these concerns.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is particularly directed to a garment thatsupports and interconnects portable electronic devices. Althoughinitially designed as a vest, portions of the garment in the presentinvention, most notably the passageways and pockets, also can befabricated into a shirt, coat or jacket. The vest includes two exteriorbreast pockets, two hidden breast pockets, four exterior abdomen pocketsand four interior abdomen pockets that are provided with internalopenings to allow the passage of connections from back to back pockets.The vest also includes closable passageways that allows for theinterconnectivity between the breast and abdomen pockets and the rightand left side of the vest. The passageways also connect the neck area ofthe garment to the pockets to allow for the attachment of listening andmicrophone devices.

Other features of the invention will become apparent from the drawingsand the detailed description of the invention is to provide for agarment that can allow for a plurality of wires to be routed from onepocket to another and to the neck area of the garment to allow for theinterconnection of portable electronic devices and to keep the wiresorganized and hidden out of site.

A further object of the invention is to provide a computer housing ofcloth material that may be worn by the user without restricting theuser's body movement and the ability to use such equipment while wearingthe garment. My garment can provide an ergonometric housing for adigital computer or for other electronic equipment that one may wish tocarry about while allowing the user relatively unrestrained bodymovement.

Further, in some aspects, the garment can be provided withcompartmentalized pockets to retain beverages and prevent contactbetween electronic devices, and can also be structured to fit a widerange of individuals by an adjusting waist structure. My garment canenable ordered and continued interconnection of internal featuresdespite the adjusted size, thereby enabling multiple users to wear thesame vest.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevational view showing the front exterior side of thevest of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view showing the front interior side of thevest.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view showing the rear exterior side of thevest.

FIG. 4 is an elevational view showing the rear interior side of thevest.

FIG. 5 is an elevational view showing the right breast pocket.

FIG. 6 is an elevational view showing a right hidden shoulder pocket.

FIG. 7 is an elevational view showing a left hidden shoulder pocket onthe interior side of the vest.

FIG. 8 is an elevational view showing the central passageway system.

FIG. 9 is an elevational view of the right half of the vest with part ofthe central passageway in the open position to accept wires from thepockets.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of theinvention, references will be made to the embodiment illustrated in thedrawings. Specific language will also be used to describe the same. Itwill, nevertheless, be understood that no limitation of the scope of theinvention is thereby intended, such alterations and furthermodifications in the illustrated device, and such further applicationsof the principles of the invention illustrated herein being contemplatedas would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the inventionrelates.

One of the features of some of our proposed garments is that they can befreed of all electronic components and hardware so that it can belaundered in an ordinary fashion.

Another feature is that my garment allows a plurality of wires to berouted from one pocket to another and to the neck area of the garment toallow for the interconnection of portable electronic devices and to keepthe wires organized and hidden out of site.

A still further feature is providing a garment that may be worn by theuser without restricting the user's body movement and the ability to usesuch equipment while wearing the garment. My garment can provide anergonometric housing for a digital computer or for other electronicequipment that one may wish to carry about while allowing the userrelatively unrestrained body movement.

A preferred embodiment of a portable electronics vest 10 of the presentinvention is shown in FIG. 1 with the vest in the closed position, whichis accomplished by using a zipper or other fastener known to thoseskilled in the art. The vest 10 can be fabricated out of a variety ofmaterials but preferably it is fabricated out of nylon, cotton,polyester microfiber or a polyester wool blend. The vest 10 which hasone or more pockets is shown with six visible exterior pockets, a rightbreast pocket 12, a left breast pocket 14, a right abdomen zipper pocket16, a left abdomen zipper pocket 18, a right privacy zipper pocket 20, aleft privacy zipper pocket 22 and a raised privacy collar 23.

The right breast pocket 12 is rectangular in shape and includes a topflap 24 that allows access to the opening 26 of the pocket. The flap 24of the right breast pocket 12 is held closed by the use of Velcro®, aloop type fastener or a snap, but other types of fasteners can be usedknown to those skilled in the art, such as a zipper or buttons. The flap24 can be opened to allow for the ingress and egress of personalelectronic devices such as cellular/digital phones and/or other similarwireless communication devices such as pagers, personal digitalassistants (commonly referred to as PDAs, Palm Pilots7 and/or PocketPCs), microcomputers, eBook readers, MP3 players, recording devices,Walkman7 and other similar portable listening devices, portabletelevision sets, portable internet devices, radar detectors, pedometers,remote control units, portable global positioning satellite (GPS)devices, two-way radios, cameras and video recorders/camcorders(including digital cameras and video recorders/camcorders), calculators,and/or miniature flashlights. Within the right breast pocket 12 is adividing flap 28, shown in FIG. 2, which creates a hidden pocket 30. Thehidden pocket 30 allows for the placement of two electronic devices inone pocket without physical contact that may cause damage. The rightbreast pocket 12 has a bellow 32, shown in FIG. 1, located around theperiphery of the pocket to allow expansion in an accordion type fashion,which accommodates thicker electronic devices. The hidden pocket 30 canbe accessed through the side of the pocket through opening 33, as shownin FIG. 5, on the inside of the vest. The opening 33 is held in theclosed position by a Velcro7 fastener. Both the hidden pocket 30 and thebreast pocket 12 include passageways 34 and 36 that allow for thepassage and routing of electrical wires and connectors. The passageways34 and 36 allow an electronic device in the right breast pocket 12 to beconnected to an electronic device in the hidden pocket 30 or for thewiring from the pockets to enter the central passageway system 38.

The left breast pocket 14 also includes a flap 40 and a hidden pocket 42and operates in the same fashion as the right breast pocket 12. The leftbreast pocket 14 also includes passageways 44 and 46, which allow forthe connection of electrical devices from the left breast pocket 14 tothe hidden pocket 42 or allows the wiring from the pockets to enter thecentral passageway system 38.

The right abdomen pocket 16, as shown in FIG. 1, is accessible through asideways oriented flap 48 that held closed by the use of a zipper,Velcro®, loop type fastener or a snap, but other types of fasteners canbe used known to those skilled in the art, such as buttons. The rightabdomen pocket 16 is dimensionally a larger pocket than the breastpockets 12 and 14 and is designed to accommodate larger electronicdevices. The right abdomen pocket 16 shares a passageway 50, shown inFIG. 2, with a right interior abdomen pocket 52 to allowinterconnectivity of the two pockets and allows the wiring from thepockets to enter the central passageway system 38. Inside the rightabdomen pocket 16, the inner lining (not shown) extends upwardly, behindand beyond the right breast pocket 12 to the collar, which allowsdevices with shorter wire leads to bypass the central passageway system38, enabling the wiring to be directly connected to the right breastpocket 12.

The left abdomen pocket 18, as shown in FIG. 1, also is accessiblethrough a sideways oriented flap 54 and operates in the same fashion asthe right abdomen pocket 16. The left abdomen pocket 18 also includespassageway 56, shown in FIG. 2, which allows for the connection ofelectrical devices from the left breast pocket 18 to a left abdomeninterior pocket 58, shown in FIG. 2, or allows the wiring from thepockets to enter the central passageway system 38. Inside the leftabdomen pocket 18, the inner lining (not shown) extends upwardly,behind, and beyond the left breast pocket 14 to the collar which allowsdevices with shorter wire leads to bypass the central passageway system38, enabling the wiring to be directly connected to the left breastpocket 14. The wiring can be inserted from the pockets 16 and 18 throughthe lining of the vest instead of through the central passageway system38.

The right privacy zipper pocket 20 and left privacy zipper pocket 22 arelocated below the right and left abdomen pockets 16 and 18 and areprovided with zippers 60 and 62 to seal off the pockets to prevent theaccidental loss of batteries, monies or keys.

The raised privacy collar 23, as shown in FIG. 1, is connected to thecentral passageway system 38 and is designed to accommodate amicrophone, headset and/or earbuds that can be attached to one of themicrophone, headset, and/or earbuds clips 64, shown in FIG. 2, locatedon the inside of the collar 23. The clips 64 are shown as elastic loopsbut other types of retaining devices can also be used such as clips,tabs or buttons or others known to those skilled in the art. The collar23 conceals the microphone to protect it from the weather elements andreduce the amount of wind noise interference. The clips 64 can also beused to route a pair of earphones so that the user of the vest canconduct private phone conversations and/or listen to music. The sides ofthe vest 10 include slits 66, shown in FIG. 1, and adjustment tabs 68that allow for a more uniform fit of the vest 10 to adjust to theindividual user. These adjustments allow for the broadening or narrowingof the abdominal region and the bottom portion of the vest 10 to flairto overlap the pants of the user.

The pockets also include dividers (not shown) which have a verticaloriented strip of Velcro7 connected on the inside walls of the pocketand are used to hold beverages and prevent contact between electronicdevices. The Velcro7 strip, when closed compartmentalizes the pockets byadjoining the inner and outer walls of the pocket, which preventbeverages from tipping over and shifting around.

The inside of the vest 10, shown in FIG. 2, includes two mesh pockets 70located on either side of the central opening of the vest to accommodatespare batteries, extra wiring, disks, adapters and the like. The insideof the vest 10 includes the central passageway system 38 or PersonalArea Network (P.A.N.), which is comprised of two vertically extendingpassageways 72 and 74 and a horizontally extending passageway 77 thatextends from the right side, around the back and to the left side of thegarment 10. The conduits consist of a fabric flap that is fastened alonga first edge 73 to the vest and releasably attached to the vest alongthe second edge 75. The passageways can be opened and closed easily toallow for the installation and removal of electrical wires andconnectors. The conduits are held in the closed position by use ofVelcro®, 90, as shown in FIG. 9, which is placed along the edge 75 ofthe flap, but other types of fasteners can be used by those skilled inthe art, such as zippers, or a hook and loop type fastener. Thevertically extending passageways 72 and 74 are divided into threesegments, a lower segment 76, a middle segment 78 and a upper segment80. The passageways 72 and 74 also include a plurality of c-shapedoutlets 82 located at the segment intersections 84. The c-shaped outlets82 allow for a large group of wires to enter the passageway and maintainthem in the location of the segment intersections 84. Without theoutlets 82, the wires tend to ungroup and become unorganized. The uppersegment 80 allows interconnection of the collar 23 with the middlesegment 78, the hidden pockets 40 and 42, and the right and left breastpockets 12 and 14. The middle segment 78 allows interconnection of theupper segment 80, the hidden pockets 40 and 42, the right and leftbreast pockets 12 and 14, the interior abdomen pockets 52 and 58, theexterior abdomen pockets 16 and 18, the lower segment 76 and thehorizontal passageway 77. The lower segment 76 interconnects the rightand left interior abdomen pockets 52 and 58, the exterior abdomenpockets 16 and 18, the middle segment 78. The horizontal passageway 77passes from the left side of the interior of the vest around the centralportion of the back, shown in FIG. 4. The horizontal passageway 77allows wires from pockets on the right side of the vest to be routed tothe left side of the vest so that there is interconnectivity between thepockets. With this arrangement, one or more wires can be removed andinstalled from an individual segment without disturbing other wiresneatly fastened in other passageway segments. This arrangement allowswiring from a first electronic device such as a MP3 player to be removedfrom the garment without disturbing the wiring of other electronicdevices such as cellular phones or personal digital assistants. Thepockets are designed to allow various types of electronic devices to beplaced within them and interconnected with any other device in any otherpocket of the vest. Since the vest can be voided of all electronichardware and wiring harnesses, the vest can be washed in a normalmanner.

To interconnect two electronic devices, wherein a first electronicdevice, such as a cell phone, is located in the right breast pocket 12and a second electronic device, such as a personal digital assistant(PDA) is located in the left abdomen pocket 18, the wiring for the phoneis inserted into the right breast pocket 12, through passageway 34. Themiddle segment 78 is opened and the wiring is inserted and routeddownward until the wiring is positioned at the C-shaped outlets 82.Horizontal passageway 77 is opened and the wiring is inserted and routedaround the back of the garment until it arrives at the middle segment 78on the opposite side of the central opening of the vest. The middlesegment 78 is opened and the wiring is inserted and routed downward andinserted through passageway 50 into the left abdomen pocket 18. The PDAcan then be inserted into the abdomen pocket 18 and connected to thewiring, interconnecting the phone with the PDA. If the user wants toconnect a microphone and earbuds to the collar 23, it can beaccomplished without disturbing the interconnection between the phoneand the PDA. The microphone and earbuds are first attached to the collarclip 64. Upper segment 80 is opened and the wires for the microphone andearbuds are inserted and routed downward and inserted through passageway36, allowing the wires to be connected with the phone.

Various features of the invention have been particularly shown anddescribed in connection with the illustrated embodiment of theinvention; however, it must be understood that these particulararrangements merely illustrate, and that the invention is to be givenits fullest interpretation within the terms of the appended claims. Theinvention need not encompass all of the attributes described herein. Forinstance, I intend to cover:

An electronic device personal assistant garment having a plurality ofelectronic device holding pockets, a plurality of electronic wires, thatconnect said pockets, said wires being independently and readilyremovable from said garment to permit said garment to be cleaned or toallow said wires to be interchanged.

An electronic device garment wiring passageway system for containingwiring in a garment of clothing having at least one passageway having atleast two segmented flaps fastened along a first edge of said flaps tothe garment and releasably attached to said garment along a second edge,the flaps including fasteners along the second edge to secure the flapsto the garment and allowing the flaps to open for the inclusion of thewiring, the at least one passageway further including c-shaped outletslocated at intersections formed by the segmented flaps adapted to groupthe wiring, whereby the flaps can be selectively opened and closed toallow for the placement of the wiring.

The articles specifically set forth in my independent and dependentclaims which are not disclosed in the prior art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A garment comprising: a body having a top end, abottom end and a number of openings extending through the body, the bodyformed at least partially of an interior panel and an exterior panelconnected to the interior panel to define an open center therebetween;at least one pocket passageway disposed on the interior panel oppositethe open center and extending between the top and bottom ends, the atleast one pocket passageway including at least one flap fixedly securedat one end to the interior panel and a releasable closure disposedadjacent the flap opposite the fixed end, the closure releasablyengageable with the flap; and at least one exterior pocket disposed onthe exterior panel and interconnected with the open center and the atleast one pocket passageway.
 2. The garment of claim 1 wherein the atleast one exterior pocket includes a releasable divider disposed insidethe at least one exterior pocket and capable of selectively dividing theat least one exterior pocket into separate pocket sections.
 3. Thegarment of claim 1 further comprising: a releasable securing mechanismon the body extending from the top end to the bottom end; a first pocketpassageway disposed on the interior panel on one side of the securingmechanism; and a second pocket passageway disposed on the interior panelon the other side of the securing mechanism, wherein the first andsecond passageways are interconnected with the open center and the atleast one exterior pocket.
 4. The garment of claim 3 further comprisinga conduit extending along the interior panel of the body between the topand bottom ends and interconnecting the first and second pocketpassageways.
 5. The garment of claim 1 further comprising a slit in theinterior panel that allows the open center to be interconnected with theat least one pocket passageway.
 6. The garment of claim 1 wherein thebody includes a retaining member disposed adjacent the top end that isadapted to receive and retain one end of a wire.
 7. The garment of claim1 wherein the at least one exterior pocket includes a slit that allowsthe at least one exterior pocket to communicate with the open center andthe at least one pocket passageway.
 8. The garment of claim 1 whereinthe at least one pocket passageway comprises a number of separatelymovable flaps.
 9. The garment of claim 1 further comprising at least oneinterior pocket disposed on the interior panel and interconnected withthe open center, the at least one pocket passageway and the at least oneexterior pocket.
 10. The garment of claim 9 wherein the at least oneinterior pocket includes a slit that allows the at least one interiorpocket to be interconnected with the open center, the at least onepocket passageway and the at least one exterior pocket.
 11. The garmentof claim 9 wherein the at least one interior pocket and the at least oneexterior pocket are disposed on the body directly opposite one another.12. The garment of claim 1 wherein the at least one exterior pocketincludes a first pouch and a second pouch separated by a partition, afirst releasable fastener that allows access to the first pouch, and asecond releasable fastener that allows access to the second pouch.
 13. Amethod of releasably connecting an electronic device to a garment, themethod comprising the steps of: a) providing a garment having a bodyincluding a top end, a bottom end and a number of openings extendingthrough the body, the body formed of an interior panel connected to anexterior panel to define an open center, at least one pocket passagewaydisposed on the interior panel opposite the open center and extendingbetween the top and bottom ends, and a first pocket disposed on one ofthe panels and interconnected with the open center and the at least onepocket passageway; b) placing the device in the first pocket; c)extending a wire from the device from the first pocket through the opencenter into the at least one pocket passageway; and d) connecting thewire from the at least one pocket passageway to the garment.
 14. Themethod of claim 13 wherein the first pocket is disposed on the exteriorpanel.
 15. The method of claim 13 wherein the first pocket is disposedon the interior panel.
 16. The method of claim 13 wherein the garmentincludes a retainer adjacent the top end and the step of connecting thewire to the garment comprises the step of inserting the wire through theretainer.
 17. The method of claim 13 wherein the garment includes afirst pocket passageway disposed on the interior panel separated from asecond pocket passageway disposed on the interior panel by a securingmechanism extending between the top and bottom ends, a conduit extendingbetween the first passageway and the second passageway along theinterior panel and a second pocket disposed on one panel of the body andinterconnected with the open center and the second pocket passageway,and wherein the step of connecting the wire to the garment comprises thesteps of: a) extending the wire from the first pocket passageway intothe conduit; b) extending the wire through the conduit into the secondpassageway, and c) inserting the wire from the second passageway intothe second pocket.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein the second pocketis disposed on the exterior panel.
 19. The method of claim 17 whereinthe second pocket is disposed on the interior panel.
 20. A garmentcomprising: a body having a top end, a bottom end and a number ofopenings extending through the body, the body formed of an interiorpanel connected to an exterior panel to define an open center; at leastone pocket passageway disposed on the interior panel, interconnectedwith the open center and extending between the top and bottom ends; atleast one exterior pocket disposed on the exterior panel including anexterior slit interconnected with the open center; and at least oneinterior pocket disposed on the interior panel and including an interiorslit interconnected with the open center.